As the Bill’s title suggests, it is about growth and infrastructure, but, as I pointed out earlier, problems arise when we have growth without infrastructure. The rhetoric on the national stage is one thing, but the reality in individual constituencies is quite another when the Government own the land where infrastructure development is being stopped.
Let me explain the situation in respect of the northern approach road from junction 28 of the A12 to Colchester mainline station. Sections one and three have been constructed, but section two, which goes through NHS land, has not, because the NHS trust has so far failed to take it forward. I urge the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles), to visit my constituency, following on from the excellent work of the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill), who met members of the Myland community council to see what can be done there.
The population of the borough of Colchester has increased by 17,278 in the decade between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. That is an increase of 11%, almost double the Essex increase, and as the Minister of State suggested, the east of England is the fastest growing region in the country. To put it simply, we need infrastructure so that land elsewhere in the town is not used when that would be undesirable. By that, I mean the fields of west Mile End, which the Secretary of State has personally viewed.
In summary, observers are warning that the town’s expansion is happening too fast for its facilities and infrastructure to cope. I therefore urge Ministers to consider local examples, such as the ones I have given, to ensure that infrastructure goes in where people want it and to avoid the alternative, which is the largest housing estate in the country, with 1,600 houses, served by a cul-de-sac more than 1 mile long.
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